1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to portable pre-manufactured modular natural gas delivery stations. More specifically, the present invention relates to prefabricating modular units that are combined to form a pre-manufactured natural gas delivery station at a power plant, gas distribution company or an industrial site. This invention utilizes separate stand alone or combined rooms. There is a high pressure gas metering and regulating room, an odorization room, a glycol heater room, a data acquisition and control room and a co-generation room. This entire code compliant and pipeline approved facility can be placed upon an 1/8 of an acre and cost less than half of the cost of previous facilities of similar size.
2. Background Information
Natural gas is a widely used source of energy throughout the world. For example natural gas is widely utilized in many countries for power generation, heating and/or cooking. Natural gas is often transported via high pressure (e.g., 1440 psig) natural gas pipelines to various gas delivery stations or distribution points around a country. The gas from the natural gas pipeline is typically measured, odorized and controlled by a utility company or a natural gas distributor, and then the gas is distributed by the utility company or distributor to the customers at pressures as low as 7" of water column. In addition, the gas must be preheated prior to pressure reduction. There is a specific reason for this pre-heat. When decompression takes place heat loss occurs at a rate of seven degrees F. of heat loss for each 100 psi of decompression. For example, gas delivered at 35 degrees F. and 600 psig would drop in temperature to 0 degrees F. If the pressure were dropped to 100 psig and no preheat was applied this could cause equipment failures or frost heaves in earth around a buried pipeline.
Deregulation of the Energy Sector and Clean Air Policies have created an unprecedented demand for new interconnects to be installed within the Natural Gas Transmission systems throughout the world. The vast amount of new interconnects, both in the inner cities and remote rural locations, and limited resources of various companies have created a need for a complete, portable, low profile, quiet, code compliant, insurance compliant, environmentally friendly, pre-approved solution to the complex interconnection to a gas transmission pipeline.
At each of these distribution points, typically there is a natural gas city gate station or natural gas delivery station that is the delivery point of natural gas from the pipeline to its customers. In the past, the gas companies utilized in-house expertise for engineering and project management of the new city gate stations. However, deregulation and clean air regulations have created situations that have resulted in shortage of in house expertise. In particular, deregulation has forced many companies to downsize their staffs to a point where much of the in-house talent is gone. Moreover, traditional college curriculums do not educate new graduates adequately in the uniqueness of compressible fluid dynamics, and other properties of natural gas. Demand in the use of natural gas has created an unprecedented demand for new interconnects. Accordingly, new companies have entered the marketplace who are unfamiliar with the engineering, and regulatory requirements of the natural gas industry.
In the past, these natural gas city gate stations were typically constructed completely on site from scratch. Each of the natural gas city gate stations tend to be slightly different depending upon the utilities needs and/or desires and the pipeline company needs and/or desires. However, most natural gas city gate stations typically have certain common equipment that is needed to accomplish the desired tasks of metering, regulating, preheating, odorizing and controlling of the high pressure gas pipelines. These natural gas city gate stations often include a metering building, a regulating building, a data acquisition control building, an odorant building and a heating area. Because these natural gas metering stations are typically constructed completely on site from scratch, they often are quite expensive and time consuming to construct.
Moreover, these natural gas city gate stations were constructed of several separated buildings. This was mainly due to the fact that the pipeline company would own certain equipment and buildings and the utility company and/or distributor would own certain other equipment and buildings.
Construction of these natural gas city gate stations can be complicated by the fact that sometimes these stations are located in exclusive neighborhoods that are sensitive to noise, odor, hazardous waste, air quality and aesthetics or in remote rural areas. This increases the difficulty in economically and rapidly constructing natural gas city gate station. In addition, natural gas city gate stations that are located in rural areas are more frequently prone to power outages and are difficult to service during power outages.
Design and construction of these natural gas city gate stations can be further complicated by the fact that a supplier and end user must conceptualize this new interconnect, develop operating agreements, develop lines of responsibility, locate land, secure permitting, for a large, noisy, visible and smelly site.
In view of the above, there exists a need for a method of prefabricating modular units for forming a natural gas delivery station, which overcomes the above mentioned problems in the prior art. Moreover, there exists a need for a natural gas delivery station that can produce its own electrical energy. This invention addresses these needs in the prior art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.